Board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

A game device comprising a pair of spaced vertically extending opaque plates. Each of the opaque plates has a plurality of holes therein formed in a predetermined pattern, with the holes in one plate being aligned with the holes in the other plate. A resiliently mounted shaft is positioned between each pair of aligned holes in said plates, and has one end projecting through each of said holes. The game is played by two players. Each player receives a predetermined number of discs, which number is less than the number of holes in the plates. Each player places his discs on the ends of selected shafts. The object of the game is to remove your opponent&#39;&#39;s discs by attempting to guess which shafts contain discs on the other end thereof, and pulling these shafts against the resilient urging in order to dislodge the opponent&#39;&#39;s discs. The first player to guess the location of all of his opponent&#39;&#39;s discs and remove them by pulling the shafts is the winner of the game.

United States Patent 1 13,632,110

[72] Inventor Derek J. Gay 2,994,531 8/1961 Eberwein 273/139 X A l Ngerdes Peninsula, Calif. FOREIGN PATENTS Fe") 26 1970 361,229 5/1962Switzerland 273/130 D 1 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972 PrimaryExaminerDelbert B. Lowe [73] Assi nee Mattel, Inc. Attorney-Seymour A.Scholnick Hawthorne, Calif.

ABSTRACT: A game device comprising a pair of spaced verti- [54] BOARDGAME APPARATUS cally extending opaque plates. Each of the opaque plateshas a 17 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. plurality of holes therein formed in apredetermined pattern, with the holes in one plate being aligned withthe holes in the [52] US. Cl other plate. A resiliently mounted shaft ispositioned between [51] Int Cl A 3/00 each pair of aligned holes in saidplates, and has one end pro- 50 Fieldo;15113:1:131:11::13:1:111:11:13111111111311: 213/130 iecfing hmugh eachSaid The game Played by 139 players. Each player receives apredetermined number of discs, which number is less than the number ofholes in the [5 R fe e i d plates. Each player places his discs on theends of selected UNITED STATES PATENTS shafts. The object of the game isto remove your opponents l 207 908 12/1916 Harness 273/139 discs byattempting to guess which shafts contain discs on the other end thereof,and pulling these shafts against the resilient 2,044,268 6/1936 Williams273/139 urging in order to dislodge the opponenfs dim The first 22932988/1942 Macdonald" 273/130 D player to guess the location of all of hisopponent's discs and 2,579,454 12/1951 Achen 273/130 D remove them bypulling the shafts is the winner of the game.

PATENTEH m 4 SHEET 1 m 2 5Z 1% HVVENTOR DE'QEA J any mmsnm we 316321110SHEET 2 0F 2 INVENTOR DEREK J. 6/1) TORNEYSQ BOARD GAME APPARATUS Thisinvention relates to a skill game, and more particularly, a game thatutilizes and develops memory skills.

There are presently many games available which are played by twoplayers, and which involve the guessing of the location of the opponentspieces which are used to indicate men or other objects. The object ofthese games is to dislodge the opponents pieces, which have beenarranged on a vertical plate at preselected positions. These games areall primarily games of chance and are used to develop the art of blindaction. Examples of such games can be found in US. Pat. Nos. 2,293,298and 2,579,454.

The game of this invention is an improvement on the guessing games ofthe prior art.

Initially, the playing of the game of this invention will involve solelythe guessing of the location of the opponents pieces. However, theshafts used for removing the opponent's pieces are automaticallyreturned to their at-rest positions. There is nothing to indicate when agiven shaft has been moved in an attempt to dislodge an opponents piece,and therefore a player may pull the same shaft a number of times duringthe course of a game if he fails to remember that the shaft has beenpulled previously. In this way, the game of this invention will improvememory skills.

In another aspect of the game of this invention, the positioning of theshafts for supporting the discs, which serve as the player's pieces, issuch that two adjacent discs could block the downward fall of an upperdisc that has been removed by the pulling of a shaft. When this occurs,there will be an audible sound which can be detected by the human ear.The sound will be produced by the clicking of one disc against the twoblocking discs. After a player has developed sufficient skills inplaying the game, he will be able to determine the level of the blockingdiscs from the amount of time it took for the dislodged disc to fall andeventually cause the audible click. Additionally, the sound intensitywill vary in proportion to the distance the disc has fallen. The playershould then be able to determine where the blocking discs are, andattempt to remove the blocking discs on his next turn.

It should be remembered that the entire game is a blind action game, inthat one player cannot see the position of his opponents pieces. Thegame of this invention will provide a source of development of thesenses of young players and a source of entertainment to players of allages.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a novel skillgame.

It is another object of this invention to provide a skill game thatutilizes and develops memory and perception skills.

These and other objects of this invention are accomplished by providinga game device comprising a pair of plates, means for supporting saidplates in spaced vertical alignment, a plurality of holes formed in eachof said plates, with the holes of both plates being aligned, a shaftpasing through each pair of aligned holes in said plates, and means forresiliently mounting each of said shafts, whereby each of said shaftscan be pulled in either direction from the exterior of said plates andreturned to its at-rest position by said resilient mounting means. Otherobjects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will bereadily apparent as the same become better understood by reference tothe following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the game device of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3- 3 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the shafts used in thisinvention.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawingswherein like reference characters refer to like parts,

a skill game device embodying the present invention is generally shownat 10 in FIG. 1. Device 10 basically comprises a pair of identical cases12 and 14 which are joined in back-toback relationship, a plurality ofshafts 16 which pass through the two cases and a plurality of discs 18.

Cases 12 and 14 are identical in structure, and each comprises avertically extending plate 20 having a plurality of holes 22 formedtherein. Holes 22 can be arranged in any predetennined pattern. In theembodiment shown, there are five horizontal rows of holes, with fiveholes being present in the first, third and fifth rows and four holesbeing present in the second and fourth rows. As seen in FIG. 2, theholes in one row are out of alignment with the holes in the next lowestrow, for a purpose to be explained hereinafier.

As seen in FIG. 4, each hole 22 includes a small sleeve 24 projectingrearwardly thereof. An enlarged sleeve 26 surrounds each sleeve 24, andis concentric therewith.

Plate 20 is formed from an opaque plastic, and is integrally molded withsleeves 24 and 26 and a frame comprising a front face 28, a top 30,sidewalls 32 and 34 and a base 36. A delivery chute 37 is formed at thebase of plate 20. Chute 37 includes a first inclined surface 38 (FIG. 2)and a second, more sharply inclined surface 39. A plurality of hollowtubes 40 projects from the rear of the left-hand side of each plate 20prior to assembly thereof, and a second plurality of hollow tubes 42projects from the right-hand side of the rear of each plate 20. Eachtube 42 has an outer diameter which is smaller than the inner diameterof each tube 40. A plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 44 isformed on the exterior surface of each tube 42. Ribs 44 terminate shortof the end of each tube 42, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

When the device 10 is assembled for use, cases 12 and 14 are united byinserting tubes 42 from one case into tubes 40 of the other case. Sincethe two cases are identical in structure, and all of the tubes 40 are onthe left-hand side of the case and all of the tubes 42 are on theright-hand side of the case, when the two cases are placed inback-to-back relationship to place them in their operative position,tubes 42 of one case can be inserted in tubes 40 of the other case. Asseen in FIG. 3, the ends of ribs 44 abut the ends of tubes 40, therebyserving as stops for the insertion. Additionally, cases 12 and 14include lips 46 which serve as light shields when the two cases areunited. During the molding process, reinforcing ribs 48 are placedaround the walls of each case to aid in strengthening the walls. Abottom ledge 49 (FIG. 4) is also formed in each case 12 and 14.

Mounted on base 36 at one end thereof is an arcuate wall 50. The otherend of base 36 includes a horizontal delivery area 52. As will beexplained hereinafter, discs 18, which are dislodged from the front ofplate 20, pass down chute 37, around arcuate wall 50 and are depositedon the delivery area 52 of the opposite case. Since case 12 is identicalto case I4, it also includes an arcuate wall 50, which is not shown.

A transparent plate 54 covers each plate 20. Plate 54 is pivotallymounted within the front face of frame 28 by having a pair of pinsreceived in holes formed in notches 56 (FIG. 1) in the left-hand side offront face 28 (see FIG. 1). Plate 54 includes a plurality of holes 58(FIG. 1) that are aligned with holes 22. Plate 54 also includes a tab 60which is received in a notch 62 on the right-hand portion of the frontface 28. Tab 60 has an opening 64 formed therein. A finger 66 (FIG. 3)projects from the rear face of tab 60. Finger 66 is formed from thesheet of plastic comprising plate 54, and opening 64 results from theformation of the finger. Finger 66 is engageable with lip 68 formed onthe front face 28 of each case.

When it is desired to open transparent plate 54, tab 60 is pulled,thereby disengaging finger 66 from lip 68. The plate 54 can then bepivoted around its left-hand pins in the nature of a door. When theplate 54 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 1, the taperedsurface of finger 66 (FIG. 3) earns the finger over the lip 68 until thefinger is snapped in place, thereby locking the door formed by plate 54.

A shaft 16 is shown in detail in FIG. 5. As seen therein, the shaftincludes a rectangular bar 70 on its upper surface. A bar 72 projectsdownwardly from shaft 16, and is formed into a pair of substantiallyU-shaped leaves 74. Each leaf 74 is flared outwardly at its top, asshown at 76.

The shaft 16 and the elements formed thereon are integrally molded. Theentire device is preferably formed from a resilient plastic, but springsteel can also be used. The leaves 74 must be highly resilient and havesufficient memory to spring back to their original shape whenever a loadis placed against them. Any of the resilient plastics known to the artcan be used for forming the device shown in FIG. 5, such aspolypropylene, nylon or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).

The device of this invention is utilized by placing cases 12 and 14 inback-to-back relationship. A shaft 16 is placed in pair of aligned holes22 and is positioned in the interior of the two cases. An end of eachshaft 16 projects through its associated hole 22. Tubes 42 are insertedin the aligned tubes 40, and the entire assembly is then snappedtogether. The two cases remain in the assembled condition in view of thepressed fit between the tubes 40 and 42, and are therefore frictionallyheld together. In the assembled condition of device I0, the flared ends76 of leaves 74 rest on the lower edges of sleeves 26 (FIG. 4). Theresilient nature of the leaves keeps shafts l6 centrally located withinthe cases 12 and 14.

The device of this invention is utilized by placing the base 36 on alevel surface. The two players then sit on opposite sides of the device,with each player facing one of the plates 20. Each player then takes onefull set of discs 18. The set for each player will be different in colorso as to avoid any confusion. The number of discs in the set can vary,depending on the number of holes 22 that are formed in each plate 20. Byway of example, utilizing plates with the 23 holes shown, a set of discscould comprise 14 discs.

Each player opens the door formed by the transparent sheet 54 bypivoting the same around its left-hand pins. The player will then placehis 14 discs on 14 of the projecting ends of the shafts 16. The discsare placed in any desired, predetermined or random position. When all ofthe discs have been placed, the door formed by transparent sheet 54 isclosed. The opponents discs are not visible to a player in view of thefact that plates 20 are opaque.

The object of the game is for each player to find out where his opponenthas placed his discs. Since it is not possible for the player to seewhere his opponent has placed his discs, the initial effort to find thelocation of the discs is purely through guessing. Accordingly, the firstplayer will pull the end of one shaft 16 that is projecting through ahole 58 in transparent door 54. The pulling of the shaft will move theshaft to a position wherein one end is substantially aligned or flushwith the front face of his opponent's plate 20, as indicated by theshaft designated 78 in FIG. 4. If a disc had been on shaft 78, it woulddrop off the shaft when the shaft is pulled. After dropping from theshaft, it will be deposited on the chute 37, in the manner shown in FIG.1 for the disc indicated at 80. As seen in FIG. 4, the plate 54 isspaced from plate 20 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of adisc 18. Accordingly, the displaced disc, which is shown at 80, willremain in a vertical position when deposited on chute 37, and will passdown the inclined surface of the chute until it passes through slot 82(FIG. 1). Thereafter, the disc will travel around the inner surface ofarcuate wall 50 and eventually be deposited on horizontal surface 52. Inthis way, each time a player dislodges an opposing players disc, and thedisc drops to chute 37, the disc will be delivered to the player.

Each time a disc is delivered during one of the players'turn, he takesanother turn, and continues taking successive turns so long as a disc isdelivered on each turn. The first time that no disc is delivered duringone of the playersturn, the other player then takes a turn.

Referring again to FIG. 4, it is seen that when the shaft indicated at78 is pulled, the leaf 74 is compressed at its top. The

abutment of one end of bar against the end of sleeve 24 serves as a stopfor the pulling of shaft 78. After the shaft has been pulled, and thedisc on the opposite end has been removed, if a disc was originallypresent at the opposite end, the shaft 78 is released. The resilientleaf 74 will then extend to its natural condition, which is shown inFIG. 5, this will let the shaft return to the position shown for theother shafts 16 in FIG. 4. It should be noted that even if the playerpulling shaft 78 has a disc on his end of the shaft, his disc will notbe dislodged, as shown in FIG. 4, however, if the shaft 78 is permittedto return with too great a force, the urging of one leaf 74 mightcompress the other leaf 74, and the player's disc will be dislodged onthe return stroke. If this should happen, the player is considered tohave lost this disc.

If there is no disc on the opposite end of the pulled shafl, then theplayer pulling the shaft will have lost his turn. Since the shaft isalways returned to its at-rest position after it is pulled, the playermust concentrate on the game in order to insure that he does not pull ashaft that he has pulled previously, since obviously no disc will bedelivered the second time. In this way, the game helps in thedevelopment of memory skills.

It should also be noted that every time a shaft is pulled that has adisc on the opposite end, the disc will not necessarily be delivered tothe chute. This is because the holes on each suc cessive row are out ofalignment with the holes below them. Accordingly, if a disc should bedislodged and there are two discs on adjacent shafts below the dislodgeddisc, the dislodged disc will then be trapped by the two lower discs.This situation is shown with respect to disc 84 in FIG. 2. The playerwho has pulled the shaft will know that a disc has been trapped by lowerdiscs, since he will hear the clicking of the falling disc against thelower discs. The trapping will also be indicated by the fact that nodisc will be delivered to the player's side of device 10. Since no discwas delivered, the player will lose his turn. However, by listening tothe loudness of the click and the time it took for the dislodged disc tobecome trapped, the player will eventually develop the skill todetermine the exact level at which the disc was trapped. Accordingly, ifthe player on his next turn pulls an appropriate shaft, not only willthe trapped disc be delivered, but also the disc that was on theopposite end of the shaft. This is readily apparent from viewing FIG. 2,and the discs indicated at 84, 86 and 88. Thus, if either disc 86 or 88is dislodged, disc 84 will be delivered along with the dislodged disc.

The game is ended when one player obtains all of his opponents discs.

Various elements of strategy can be developed in the playing of thegame. It is best not to put the discs on the shafts in a set pattern,but rather a random pattern should be used in an effort to confuse theopponent. Care should be exercised in attempting to remember whichshafts should be pulled, since the pulling of a shaft a second time willresult in the wasting of a turn. Care should be exercised in attemptingto determine and remember where the opponents discs have been trapped.The loudness of the click at the time of trapping should be a goodindication of the row containing the trapped disc.

The cases 12 and 14 each comprise a unitary molded item, with theexception of the transparent plates 54 which are inserted separately.Any of the molding techniques known to the art can be used in formingthe cases, but injection molding is preferred. The cases can be formedfrom any rigid opaque plastic, such as the vinyl resins orpolypropylene. The color of the cases can be varied, depending dependingon the pigment used. The plates 54 are molded, rigid, transparentplastics. Plastics that can be used are methyl methacrylate orpolystyrene.

A modification that can be made in the structure of device 10 is thereplacement of leaves 74 by coiled compression springs telescoped overshafts 16. The device 10 will still function in an identical manner tothat described above.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate myinvention, that others may, by applying current or fulure knowledge,adopt the same for use under various condi lions of service.

I claim:

1. A game device comprising a pair of spaced vertically extendingplates, means for supporting said plates, a plurality of holes formed ineach of said plates, with the holes of both plates being aligned, ashaft passing through each pair of aligned holes in said plates, meansfor resiliently mounting each of said shafts, a plurality of membersadapted to be positioned on the ends of said shafts passing through saidaligned holes, said members having holes therein through which saidshafts pass, said members constituting the playing pieces for each ofthe players of the game device, whereby each of said shafts can bepulled horizontally from the exterior of either of said plates to removesaid members from said shafts, and said shafts are returned to theirat-rest position by said resilient mounting means.

2. The game device of claim 1 and further including means at the base ofeach of said plates for delivering the opponent's pieces to a playerwhen the shaft on which said piece has been placed is pulled.

3. The game device of claim 1, wherein said delivery means comprises achute positioned at the base of each plate.

4. The game device of claim 3 wherein said delivery means furtherincludes guide means for guiding the discharged piece to the playerafter the discharged piece has passed down the chute.

5. The game device of claim 1 and further including a second platemounted in parallel relationship to each of said first-mentioned plates,said second plates having a plurality of holes therein, with said holesin said second plates being aligned with the holes in saidfirst-mentioned plates.

6. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of said firstmentioned platesis opaque and each of said second plates is transparent.

7. The game device of claim 5 wherein said shafts also pass through eachof said holes in said second plates.

8. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of said second plates ispivotally mounted adjacent its associate first-mentioned plate, and ispositioned exteriorly thereof.

9. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts has stop meansthereon and each of said plates has associated therewith abutment means,said stop means being adapted to contact said abutment means when ashaft is pulled, thereby providing a limit to the amount that each ofsaid shafts may be pulled in either direction.

10. The game device of claim 1 wherein said resilient mounting meanscomprises resilient leaves projecting from each of said shafts, saidresilient leaves maintaining said shafts at a central position betweensaid plates, and said resilient leaves returning said shafts to saidcentral position whenever said shafts are pulled and the pulling forceis released.

11. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts has stopmeans formed thereon, and said resilient mounting means comprises a pairof resilient leaves projecting from said shafts, said stop means andsaid leaves being integral with said shafts.

12. The game device of claim 1 wherein said holes are arranged in aseries of horizontal rows in said plates, with the holes in each rowbeing out of alignment with the holes in the next lowest or next highestrow.

13. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said members comprises adisc, and said holes are formed in the centers of said discs.

14. The game device of claim 1 wherein said shaft comprises a bar, stopmeans formed on said bar for limiting the horizontal movement of saidbar, and said resilient mounting means comprises a pair of resilientleaves projecting from said bar, said bar, stop means and leaves beingunitary and formed from a resilient plastic.

15. The game device of claim 14 wherein each of said leaves is basicallyU-shaped, and said leaves project from a central leg which projects fromsaid bar, with one end of each of said leaves being free of said bar,whereby the portion of each leaf which is free of said bar may becompressed.

16. The game device of claim 14 wherein said plastic comprisesacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.

17. The game device of claim 14 wherein said plastic comprisespolypropylene.

1. A game device comprising a pair of spaced vertically extendingplates, means for supporting said plates, a plurality of holes formed ineach of said plates, with the holes of both plates being aligned, ashaft passing through each pair of aligned holes in said plates, meansfor resiliently mounting each of said shafts, a plurality of membersadapted to be positioned on the ends of said shafts passing through saidaligned holes, said members having holes therein through which saidshafts pass, said members constituting the playing pieces for each ofthe players of the game device, whereby each of said shafts can bepulled horizontally from the exterior of either of said plates to removesaid members from said shafts, and said shafts are returned to theirat-rest position by said resilient mounting means.
 2. The game device ofclaim 1 and further including means at the base of each of said platesfor delivering the opponent''s pieces to a player when the shaft onwhich said piece has been placed is pulled.
 3. The game device of claim2, wherein said delIvery means comprises a chute positioned at the baseof each plate.
 4. The game device of claim 3 wherein said delivery meansfurther includes guide means for guiding the discharged piece to theplayer after the discharged piece has passed down the chute.
 5. The gamedevice of claim 1 and further including a second plate mounted inparallel relationship to each of said first-mentioned plates, saidsecond plates having a plurality of holes therein, with said holes insaid second plates being aligned with the holes in said first-mentionedplates.
 6. The game device of claim 5 wherein each of saidfirst-mentioned plates is opaque and each of said second plates istransparent.
 7. The game device of claim 5 wherein said shafts also passthrough each of said holes in said second plates.
 8. The game device ofclaim 5 wherein each of said second plates is pivotally mounted adjacentits associate first-mentioned plate, and is positioned exteriorlythereof.
 9. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts hasstop means thereon and each of said plates has associated therewithabutment means, said stop means being adapted to contact said abutmentmeans when a shaft is pulled, thereby providing a limit to the amountthat each of said shafts may be pulled in either direction.
 10. The gamedevice of claim 1 wherein said resilient mounting means comprisesresilient leaves projecting from each of said shafts, said resilientleaves maintaining said shafts at a central position between saidplates, and said resilient leaves returning said shafts to said centralposition whenever said shafts are pulled and the pulling force isreleased.
 11. The game device of claim 1 wherein each of said shafts hasstop means formed thereon, and said resilient mounting means comprises apair of resilient leaves projecting from said shafts, said stop meansand said leaves being integral with said shafts.
 12. The game device ofclaim 1 wherein said holes are arranged in a series of horizontal rowsin said plates, with the holes in each row being out of alignment withthe holes in the next lowest or next highest row.
 13. The game device ofclaim 1 wherein each of said members comprises a disc, and said holesare formed in the centers of said discs.
 14. The game device of claim 1wherein said shaft comprises a bar, stop means formed on said bar forlimiting the horizontal movement of said bar, and said resilientmounting means comprises a pair of resilient leaves projecting from saidbar, said bar, stop means and leaves being unitary and formed from aresilient plastic.
 15. The game device of claim 14 wherein each of saidleaves is basically U-shaped, and said leaves project from a central legwhich projects from said bar, with one end of each of said leaves beingfree of said bar, whereby the portion of each leaf which is free of saidbar may be compressed.
 16. The game device of claim 14 wherein saidplastic comprises acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene.
 17. The game deviceof claim 14 wherein said plastic comprises polypropylene.